Posts by Sr. Susan Maria Kusz

Every saint is a facet of the Diamond who is God.  And every saint who has founded a religious congregation has given that facet to his or her followers. We call that facet a charism, meaning a gift to the world. A charism is the way a particular person or group follows Jesus Christ, thus…

An angel is pure intelligence, but we limited intelligences try to cramp an angel into a semi-material being with wings.  The part of me closest to angelic is my spirit, my mind. We humans are evolving into a new dimension when our spirits will become more “who we are” than our bodies can ever explain…

September 15 is traditionally the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows in the Catholic liturgical calendar.  Sunday takes precedence this year, but I got to musing about Mary remembered under this title while praying for our three Sisters who take this feast of Mary as their name day. The other day I met a woman…

  “The rains are over and gone … glad songs are heard!”  This little line from the Scripture has danced through my consciousness today as we enjoyed sunshine, puffy clouds, and cool air for the first time in awhile.  Amidst our prayer on the Resurrection stories in our retreat, I heard God’s invitation to consider not…

This morning was filled with a steady, persistent rain that kept us confined to the inside of the retreat house.  I sought out a room with no a/c, opened the windows, and just listened.  Amidst the pitter patter of the rainfall, other sounds came through clearly:  birdsong!  I’m not blessed with the gift or the…

Each Sister of Notre Dame has the opportunity to make a week’s retreat on an annual basis.  These days become a wonderful time to rekindle the flame of our love for God and to allow God to delight in us.  This evening before retreat began I took my camera and went for a walk at…

So many disasters:  Hurricane Sandy … Boston Marathon … tornadoes in Moore and Shawnee, Oklahoma and then Oklahoma City and so many other places … fires in New Mexico and California … human trafficking …. child labor … fires in garment factories … and the list could go on and on and on …. Yesterday…

I just returned from a magnificently joyful Easter Vigil at a vibrant church in Santa Fe.  Two young girls were baptized this evening and they obviously practiced their “I do” to the Profession of Faith with zeal and vigor!  The pastor, an energetic man, alerted the rest of us, when it was our turn to…

A couple decades ago, Christian songwriter Michael Card graced the world with a marvelous song called Come to the Table.  Every Holy Thursday I take time to ponder its meaning. “All have been welcomed to come if they might … he freely offers … we freely receive … the hand that is breaking the bread…

I’m gluten / lactose / soy free for medical reasons.  This means I can’t always enjoy the same foods that others might be able to eat.  Yesterday a phenomenal thing happened.  I walked into our monastery kitchen and our generous cook said to me, “Sister, I made you a cake.”  “Me?”  “Yes … and you…